Coffee

Title

Coffee

Language

English

Source

The Young Citizen 5 (7) July 1939

Year

1939

Subject

Coffee

Coffee industry

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

2+6 THE YOUNG CITIZEN Jul,•, 1939 ELEMENTARY SCIENCE SECTION COFFEE TOWARD the end of the third century some monks, fleeing from persecution, found refuge in the highlands of Abyssinia. This ancient country is in northeastern Africa across the Red Sea from Arabia. The monks supported themselves in Abyssinia by tilling the soil and raising floclts of sheep and goats. One night one of the good fathers whose turn it was to watch the herds and found that he, too, felt very much refreshed and was wakeful· that night. Thus coffee was discovered, according to one of the many kgends -which the Arabs tell. However fanciful the st9ry may be, the fact remains that Abyssinia and Arabia were the original homes of the coffee plant. We also know that by the 15th century pilgrims to Mecca, the holy city of Arabi~, used a drink made from the roasted came running to the monastery, pale and THE_ COFFE.E. DLRNT coffee bean in order to prevent sleepiness during the long religious services of the. Mohammedan religion. trembling. "The animals are bewitched," he panted-. "They jump and play as if it were a bright, cool morning." "Peace, my son; you have 1 been dreaming," said the father superior. "Rest here and I will gci and look at the flocks." But he, too, found the animals ju!)lping and playing in the i. flitwers and Leaves z. S12eds From Arabia the practice of drinking coffee passed to Constantinople (now called Istan~ul), a city in Turkey, then to Venice in Italy, and then to England, France, and other European countries. moonlight instead of sleeping as they should. Night after night this continued. By. observing what plants the animals fed on, the monks were at last convinced that the sleeplessness and the playing of the sheep and goats were due to their eating the leaves and fruit of a certain unfamiliar shrub which grew there in profusion. Picking some of the ripe fruits, one of the monks chewed the seeds, l' ntil the end of the 17th century all the coffee of commerce came from Arabia, being shipped· from the city cif Mocha on the Red Sea. The Dutch were the first to cultivate coffee in countries of which the plant is not native. In about 1690 coffee seeds were taken to Java, the most important island in the Dutch colonial possessions in the East Indies, These seeds were planted in Java and produced fruit. Soon cof(Please turn to page 257.) July, 1939 SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (Continued from page 244) suited to dreamy, melancholy music. It has all the reediness and tender expressiveness of the oboe. While it is sometimes used to express the joys of the pastoral life, th.ere is always a suggestion of sadness and loneliness in its voice. While playing the English horn, the player must hold his breath.under great cont r o I. This produces considerable tension in the lips, lungs, and chest. Ther.efore the Eng 1 is h horn, like the oboe, is a difficult instrument to play. Tlze Clm·inet The clarinet (illustrated on page 243) has been called "the queen of the woodwind" because it is capable of doing many. things. It is a single-reed instrument about two feet long. Much has been said in praise of the tone quality of the clarinet, which has been described as noble, refined, mellow, lonely, weird, and sornber. It is the dramatic soprano of the woodwind section. The modern symphony orchestra usually employs two clarinets, a 1 thou g h more are sometimes used. THE YOUNG CITIZEN T lze Bass CIMinet By looking carefully at the picture of the bass clarinet (page 243) you will notice that it is larger than the clarinet. For this rea257 COFFEE ( Ca11tilr11ed from p119e 2+6) fee was cultivated in other tropical countries of Asia and South America. The varieties of coffee son it can play lower tones which have been permitted than the clari.net can play. to grow wild are 20 feet or The bass clarinet looks more in height, but the culsomething 1 i k e a saxo- tivated bushes are kept phone, which is made of trimmed to 6 or IO feet, so metal and does not haye the berries may be picked such a good tone as the bass more readily. clarinet has. The leaves of the coffee Th e b a s s clarinet is made of wood, and its voice is powerful and reedy. It sounds lil<e the 1ower tones of a pipe organ. Tlze Bassoon The bassoon (illustrated on page 243) is a doubler e e d instrument which plays the bass (the lowest part) for the woodwind choir. It is a large instrument. It has been called "the clown" of the orchestra, because it can play in a grotesque manner. There are usually two bassoons in the orchestra, but sometimes more are used. Tlze Contrabassoon By looking at the picture of the contra bassoon (page 243) you will notice that it is larger than the bassoon. Because it is larger, it can play lower tones. Alplant are green and glossy on the upper surface. The flowers are · w h i t e and sweet-scented. The fruit is of an oval shape and of a da~k-red color when ripe. Each fruit contains two cells, and each cell has a, single seed which is the coffee as we see it before it is roasted. (See the illustration on page 246.) Gr.eat attention is paid to the culture of coffee, espec i a 1 1 y in Arabia. The· (Please turn to page 259.) though it has a different appearance, it is played like the bassoon. A bassoon player iA the orchestra usually plays the contrabassoon when it is needed. Next month we shall discuss each of the instruments of the brasswind section. (Please turn to page 260:) Jul)', 1939 THE OLDEST CHURCH (Continued from page 242) brought from China leads one to the second floor. The stair-case is worth seeing, as are also some of the numerous paintings which hang in the church and convent. In the upper part of the convent is a library. The British, durin~ the invasion of 1762, are charged with having carried away a number of the rarest books and the most. important documents and manuscripts, so that at present only a few valuable books and manuscripts remain in the library. There are numerous other rooms and corridors in ,the c_hurch and convent, such as the recreation hall, cloisters, a private chapel, the dining room, etc. One may descend by a curious circular stairway to the form.er dispensary and storehouse and the o Id dining room with its unique decorations on the ·ceiling. The convent was designed by the same great architect, Herrera, who d.esigned the church, but his plans wer.e not entirely followed, and many minor changes arid additions have been made during the intervening centuries. THE YOUNG CITIZEN COFFEE (Conti1111ed from page 257) shrubs are raised from seed sown in nurseries, and afterwards planted in moist and shady places on sloping ground. Care is taken to plant the shrubs so that at certain seasons the roots w i l l be constantly surrounded with moisture. When the fruit is ripe a cloth is placed under the tree and the fruits are shaken down. Then the berr-i.es are placed on mats and dried in the sun .. Th~ husk is later removed by heavy rollers. The best coffee comes from Mocha, but Java and Central America also produce large quantities of excellent coffee. Brazil in South Am er i c a grows abundant crops - m o r e than any other country. Coffee is also grown in the Philippines to some extent. It has been estimated that the world's supply of coffee is more than two billion pounds a year. The Anyone who will tak.e the ti me to be shown through this noble edifice by one of the accommodating fathers in charge will find a visit to the Church of Saint Augustine, o Ides t church in the Philippines," to be most interesting. 259 greatest coffee-consuming countries are the United States and the countries of northern Europe. The refreshing action of coffee is produced by a drug called caffeine (pronounced caf-een). The pleasant smell is produced by an oil which is largely developed by the roasting process. Coffee is an important article of commerce. The coffee expor~ed each year from Brazil alone is valued at more than 500 million pesos.-A.dapted frnm the Concise and the Compton Encyclopedia. STORY OF A FAILURE (Continued from page 250) having always followed the dictates of his conscience and of having always done his best? Thus lived and died Apolinario Mabini, a man. who considered himself a failure. Whether or not Mabini was a failu~e, you, reader, will d.ecide for yourself. -Adapted from Philippine P1·ose and Poetry. VVEATI-IER QL'ESTIONS (A11swers from' page 233) I. Yes 5 .. Yes 2. Yes 6. Yes 3. No 7. Yes 4. No. 8. No Jul)', 1939 THE OLDEST CHURCH (Continued from page 242) brought from China leads one to the second floor. The stair-case is worth seeing, as are also some of the numerous paintings which hang in the church and convent. In the upper part of the convent is a library. The British, durin~ the invasion of 1762, are charged with having carried away a number of the rarest books and the most. important documents and manuscripts, so that at present only a few valuable books and manuscripts remain in the library. There are numerous other rooms and corridors in ,the c_hurch and convent, such as the recreation hall, cloisters, a private chapel, the dining room, etc. One may descend by a curious circular stairway to the form.er dispensary and storehouse and the o Id dining room with its unique decorations on the ·ceiling. The convent was designed by the same great architect, Herrera, who d.esigned the church, but his plans wer.e not entirely followed, and many minor changes arid additions have been made during the intervening centuries. THE YOUNG CITIZEN COFFEE (Conti1111ed from page 257) shrubs are raised from seed sown in nurseries, and afterwards planted in moist and shady places on sloping ground. Care is taken to plant the shrubs so that at certain seasons the roots w i l l be constantly surrounded with moisture. When the fruit is ripe a cloth is placed under the tree and the fruits are shaken down. Then the berr-i.es are placed on mats and dried in the sun .. Th~ husk is later removed by heavy rollers. The best coffee comes from Mocha, but Java and Central America also produce large quantities of excellent coffee. Brazil in South Am er i c a grows abundant crops - m o r e than any other country. Coffee is also grown in the Philippines to some extent. It has been estimated that the world's supply of coffee is more than two billion pounds a year. The Anyone who will tak.e the ti me to be shown through this noble edifice by one of the accommodating fathers in charge will find a visit to the Church of Saint Augustine, o Ides t church in the Philippines," to be most interesting. 259 greatest coffee-consuming countries are the United States and the countries of northern Europe. The refreshing action of coffee is produced by a drug called caffeine (pronounced caf-een). The pleasant smell is produced by an oil which is largely developed by the roasting process. Coffee is an important article of commerce. The coffee expor~ed each year from Brazil alone is valued at more than 500 million pesos.-A.dapted frnm the Concise and the Compton Encyclopedia. STORY OF A FAILURE (Continued from page 250) having always followed the dictates of his conscience and of having always done his best? Thus lived and died Apolinario Mabini, a man. who considered himself a failure. Whether or not Mabini was a failu~e, you, reader, will d.ecide for yourself. -Adapted from Philippine P1·ose and Poetry. VVEATI-IER QL'ESTIONS (A11swers from' page 233) I. Yes 5 .. Yes 2. Yes 6. Yes 3. No 7. Yes 4. No. 8. No

Media